Another Stellar Start By Porcello Leads Red Sox Past Braves

ATLANTA –(AP)  Never mind the hard-to-fathom facts about the opponent, namely that the Atlanta Braves haven’t hit a home run since April 10 or that, according to ESPN Stats & Information, 50 players entered Monday night with more homers than Atlanta has hit as a team (three).

Regardless of all that, Rick Porcello gave the Boston Red Sox exactly what they craved upon arriving at Turner Field.

Not only did Porcello hold the weakling Braves scoreless in the opener of a two-game interleague series, a 1-0 victory that pushed the Red Sox above .500 for the first time since April 17, but he went deep into the game, recording one out in the seventh inning before yielding to a bullpen that has been badly overused through the season’s first month.

Indeed, Porcello’s line — 6 1/3 innings, four hits, no runs, two walks, six strikeouts — read like a sigh of relief from the relievers, several of whom were able to take a rare night off.

After the bullpen accounted for 26 outs in Sunday night’s 12-inning marathon in Houston, lefty Robbie Ross Jr. needed 12 pitches to get the final two outs of the seventh inning, setup man Koji Uehara tossed a 13-pitch eighth, and embattled closer Craig Kimbrel bounced back after allowing a game-tying two-run homer one night earlier to overpower the Braves in a perfect ninth.

Porcello did the rest, becoming the fourth pitcher in the majors with a 4-0 record.

Last season, Porcello lost 15 games and posted a wretched 4.92 ERA after signing a four-year, $82.5 million contract extension. But he has gotten back to a formula that has worked throughout his career: More sinkers lead to fewer stinkers.

In his third consecutive strong start, Porcello used his signature sinker to retire 10 of 11 batters at one point. He was in complete control, allowing only one runner to reach third base and not until the seventh inning after Jeff Francoeur notched the Braves’ only extra-base hit, a one-out double, and went to third two batters later on a fielder’s choice.

Porcello has pitched into the seventh inning in each of his past three starts against the Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays and now the Braves. And regardless of the opponent, that can’t be underestimated at a time when even ace lefty David Price (7.06 ERA entering Tuesday night’s start against the Braves) has struggled.